This has sparked protests by some who fear the work could affect water supplies due to the site's proximity to Woodburn Reservoir.

Almost 2,000 streets are supplied with water from the reservoir including large areas of Belfast, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey, Larne and Whitehead. Members of the Stop The Drill campaign staged a protest outside Belfast City Hall before the meeting, when Green Party councillor Ross Brown proposed that the council should oppose the drilling.

SDLP councillor Tim Attwood said he has received a very large number of letters and emails about the issue.

Several unionists said there was not enough firm evidence that the drilling would have a negative effect. DUP councillor Brian Kingston said: "There has been a great deal of scaremongering about this issue. This is only an exploratory licence, not an extraction licence."

Mr Brown also proposed that the council should writes to Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell, Environment Minister Mark H Durkan, and Mid and East Antrim Council about the matter.